Phantom traffic jams occur when drivers ahead tap their brakes – setting off a chain reaction that results in traffic behind grinding to a halt

Phenomenon is exacerbated during the summer holiday season when families across Europe head for the roads in abundance

Ford and researchers show that widespread use of Adaptive Cruise Control tech offered on Ford models from Fiesta to Transit van can mitigate and even prevent phantom jams

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COLOGNE, Germany, July 18, 2018 – In Germany, the annual summer exodus of holidaying families to the warmer southern regions is such a phenomenon that it has its own nickname: the “Blechlawine” – or “metal avalanche”.

On these extra-busy roads – commonplace across Europe during the summer holiday season –so-called phantom traffic jams often occur, seemingly out of nowhere.

These frustrating jams are easily caused by human factors – such as merging into traffic without signalling, distracted driving, poor driving habits and reaction times, or unnecessary braking. Once one driver hits the brakes, a chain reaction can occur as other drivers tap their brakes, causing the flow of traffic to grind to a halt.

Now, Ford and researchers from Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Tennessee, U.S., have demonstrated that such hold-ups could be minimised with widespread use of technology already offered on Ford vehicles from the Fiesta small car to the Transit van.

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) technology can automatically slow down and speed up to keep pace with the car in front without getting fatigued or distracted.

“A fun summer holiday family road trip can quickly become irritating when traffic slows to a crawl – especially once you learn there was no reason for the gridlock,” said Torsten Wey, manager, Driver Assistance and Safety Technology, Ford of Europe. “We encourage Ford owners who have Adaptive Cruise Control to use it during their summer travels in the hope this smart technology today can be that first step to help ease commutes.”

On a closed Ford test track, 36 drivers simulated normal highway traffic using ACC technology. Those drivers then drove the same course, but without the technology – meaning they had to manually brake and accelerate the vehicle.

The results: vehicles using ACC reduced the impact of a braking event more than those vehicles without the activated technology. Even with just one in three vehicles using ACC, the test yielded similar traffic-busting benefits.

“For years, traffic researchers and engineers have been looking to smart vehicle technologies to reduce traffic congestion, whether that’s vehicles that talk to each other or vehicles that can predict the road ahead,” said Daniel Work, civil engineering professor at Vanderbilt University. “This demonstration was a unique opportunity to understand how commercially-available active driver-assist technologies can be used to positively influence traffic flow.”

Ford currently offers Adaptive Cruise Control on 80 per cent of the company’s passenger and commercial vehicle line-up in Europe, and with the all-new Ford Focus recently introduced an enhanced version of the technology featuring Stop & Go, Speed Sign Recognition and Lane-Centring functionality for effortlessly negotiating stop-start traffic.

A previous EU-funded joint research project led from the Ford Research and Innovation Center, Aachen, Germany, concluded that vehicles equipped with ACC and Forward Collision Warning technology could help prevent or mitigate the effects of more than 5 per cent of motorway accidents resulting in injuries; save drivers more than 3 million hours per year stuck in traffic; and reduce passenger car fuel consumption by 3 per cent.

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Editors notes:

· During the demonstrations, three lanes of 12 vehicles each were tested on a closed high-speed oval simulating a highway. The lead vehicles in each lane slowed from 97 km/h (60 mph) to 64 km/h (40 mph) to mimic a traffic disturbance. Without the ACC technology, the drivers each braked harder than the vehicle ahead, which led to a braking wave that became more pronounced further down the traffic stream.

The demonstration was repeated with all vehicles using adaptive cruise control set at 100 km/h (62 mph), just slightly higher than the lead vehicles to ensure the vehicles remained in a constant platoon. In these demonstrations, the ACC systems outperformed the human drivers in almost every braking situation.

In one run, the ACC actually suppressed the braking wave so the last car in the lane only slowed by 8 km/h (5 mph) instead of coming to a stand-still.

The team also reduced the number of ACC active vehicles to 33 per cent. This is the low threshold researchers have long believed could help suppress phantom traffic backups. The results were similar to the full ACC demonstrations.

· Drivers each averaged 30 hours stuck in peak-period congestion in Germany, and 31 hours in the U.K., during 2017. Drivers in London spent 74 hours – more than three full days – stuck in peak-period jams*

Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 202,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford of Europe is responsible for producing, selling and servicing Ford brand vehicles in 50 individual markets and employs approximately 54,000 employees at its wholly owned facilities and approximately 69,000 people when joint ventures and unconsolidated businesses are included. In addition to Ford Motor Credit Company, Ford Europe operations include Ford Customer Service Division and 24 manufacturing facilities (16 wholly owned or consolidated joint venture facilities and eight unconsolidated joint venture facilities). The first Ford cars were shipped to Europe in 1903 – the same year Ford Motor Company was founded. European production started in 1911.